I wanted to share this with this board cause I know there are some people on here who are probably in a similar boat.

A couple of years ago I started using cleansers to try and clear my acne, then I moved on to BP, then I moved on to Retin-A and other really intense creams. These fried my face to oblivion. My skin's protection got completely wiped away and I was left with red, dehydrated, awful looking skin. The heavy cream use did fry away all my acne, but I was left with plenty of red marks.

I quit the creams exactly a year ago, and I decided to try and heal my face with natural products such as aloe vera. The natural products did help to reduce my red marks a bit, but after a while my acne came back and then my face got really bad because I was breaking out on top of all my old redness.

I realized no product was going to fix this, and then I read some stuff online about how not washing your face can allow it to heal itself if it's been messed up by product use. So I stopped washing my face 2 and a half months ago and I literally have no zits on my face now. This isn't to say that I look good because I do have a lot of old red marks still, and my face is still very dehydrated in certain areas so that'll take a while longer to heal I guess. But, the fact that my face immediately stopped breaking out when I stopped washing is proof that this is the right thing to do.

This doesn't go for everyone of course, but if you can relate to what I've written here and are finding that no product or regimen is healing your skin, consider this

How old are you? And this has been done many times. People around here refer to it as the caveman method if I remember correctly. It works for some but not for everyone, but that's the case for all acne products. I actually tried it myself. It didn't work out too well.

How old are you? And this has been done many times. People around here refer to it as the caveman method if I remember correctly. It works for some but not for everyone, but that's the case for all acne products. I actually tried it myself. It didn't work out too well.

18. And yea acne is definitely complicated so nothing is sure to work. I tried for months to stop my acne by being super healthy (diet, exercise, cutting down stress) but it didn't actually work until I stopped washing my face as well

People don't realize that the FDA purposely approves of ingredients in things, both food and products, that cause ailments, including acne. It's how they make money. Then once you get hit with the acne or other illness, they have drugs and things to "sell" you to combat the side effects of what they originally approved as "safe". Those drugs also have side effects, so around around you go, filling their pockets with truckloads of cash. Docotrs are just the middle men, they know only what they've been taught...which is selling the FDAs drugs.

People put all sorts of stuff on their face, which might clear the acne up initially, but it's not going to solve the problem long term. You won't be getting to the actual cause and instead, just masking symptoms and you'll be spending a whole lot of money in the process.

Everyone should try what the OP said at first co clear their acne. Wash strictly with water for a while, without using ANYTHING on your face, and see if there's a difference. This works best for me also.

That being said, diet is also a HUGE part of clear skin. But..back to my original point, there's ingredients in food that single handily cause acne, never believe anyone that says food doesn't cause acne. If you have acne, you know better. Once you realize this you should be able to pinpoint what foods are causing your acne and avoid them. For me, it's always chocolate and especially shrimp.

Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables...and last but not least...RAW GARLIC especially. Eat a clove of RAW garlic a week or so and watch how much your skin improves. Don't substitute garlic pills, go with the real thing. After eating the RAW garlic, a clove or a half a clove of day, exercise so the garlic sweat goes through your pores and cleans them from the inside out. Works wonder, as does letting your shower run for 10-15 minutes with the shower or spicket on as hot as it can go..let the room will up with steam...once it does...get in there for 10-15 minutes and let the steam soak your pores. Hot showers are great too but you won't be able to get the water as hot as it can go, so turning your bathroom into a sauna once or twice a week, or especially after a workout when you're already sweat, will do wonders for your skin.

The worst breakouts I ever had in my life was when I had a horrible diet, never exercised and used all sorts of different things on my face. Best my skin has ever looked when I used absolutely nothing on my face, ate raw garlic, exercised, and ate a relitvely healthy diet with lots of organic lean meats, vegetables, and organic 100% puree fruit juices. Spinach is also insanely great for your skin. Eat a bowl of steamed spinach and watch your skin change in a few days.

Let your food be your medicine. Going organic is best as every-time in mainstream supermarkets is full of those FDA ingredients with side effects approved purposely so money can be made off you once you consume them. But organic stuff can be pricey...so if you can't go organic...try to make the absolute best choices when shopping at an Acme or Shoprite. Avoid the things you know you should avoid..buy Bolthouse farms 100% juice purees...green goodness is the best one...has all sorts of non-gmo vegetables in it that will help your skin.

We live in a very artificial world that the body wasn't made to be living in. Products aren't the answer, they are the cause.

Everything from clothes washing detergents, dryer sheets, toothpastes....everything has a potential to cause acne...never-mind if you're a women wearing make up and putting all sorts of other stuff on your face.

Try to eliminate as many artificial things as possible or cut back drastically...save money and get your skin back to looking the way it's supposed to.

How old are you? And this has been done many times. People around here refer to it as the caveman method if I remember correctly. It works for some but not for everyone, but that's the case for all acne products. I actually tried it myself. It didn't work out too well.

18. And yea acne is definitely complicated so nothing is sure to work. I tried for months to stop my acne by being super healthy (diet, exercise, cutting down stress) but it didn't actually work until I stopped washing my face as well

What kind of acne do you have? Would this work for blackhead acne (I have mainly clogged pores and some redness)? And what about body acne (same problem there)?

How old are you? And this has been done many times. People around here refer to it as the caveman method if I remember correctly. It works for some but not for everyone, but that's the case for all acne products. I actually tried it myself. It didn't work out too well.

18. And yea acne is definitely complicated so nothing is sure to work. I tried for months to stop my acne by being super healthy (diet, exercise, cutting down stress) but it didn't actually work until I stopped washing my face as well

What kind of acne do you have? Would this work for blackhead acne (I have mainly clogged pores and some redness)? And what about body acne (same problem there)?

I have no idea about body acne since I've never had it. The face acne that I was getting before was basically endless amounts of little spots lining my jawline and forehead. They never came to a head, they were always little inflamed spots that would leave marks. After I stopped washing, any zits that I did get always came to a head and cleared very fast, then shortly after they just stopped altogether.

Yeah my acne went away when I removed one of my morning products (Clarifoam) and washing since it was causing my skin to be tight and a bit dry. Now, I remain spraying Avene water and later putting on Finacea shortly after. Apparently there is no need to wash in the morning since you have been sleeping and your skin has not been dirtied.

The reason for this magical change is because my skin was getting a bit tight when I woke up and put on those products, it over dried my skin. Your skin has mechanisms (I mean, obviously) and it works best on its own. So now that my skin is a bit more oily, it acts as a lubricant to bacteria. The tightness was affecting the skin's equilibrium and therefore acne was forming!

Moral of the story, your skin knows what it is doing, do not overdo anything!